Spermatophyta: Monocotyledonae: Asparagales

Iridaceae - Iris family

Goldblatt, P. (1993) Iridaceae Flora Zambesiaca 12(4)

Description of the family

Perennial herbs with rhizomes, bulbs or corms. Inflorescence either (1) composed of rhipidia enclosed in leafy to dry bracts (spathes) or (2) consisting of a spike or (3) with flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, with 2 whorls of petaloid tepals which are usually showy and may be free or, more usually, partly united into a perianth tube. Stamens 3. Ovary inferior, 3-locular with axile placentation. Style filiform, usually 3-branched; style branches filiform or broadened, sometimes divided at the apex. Fruit a capsule. Seeds sometimes winged.

Worldwide: 82 genera and 1700 species, cosmopolitan, but especially in South Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Central and South America.

Mozambique: 1 cultivated genus and 1 cultivated taxon.

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Links to cultivated genera:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

GenusContent
Eleutherine Herb.Description, Image

Other sources of information about Iridaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Iridaceae
Flora of Caprivi: Iridaceae
Flora of Malawi: Iridaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Iridaceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Iridaceae
Flora of Zambia: Iridaceae
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Iridaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: Iridaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Iridaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Iridaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) taxonomy for plants report for Iridaceae
Wikipedia: Iridaceae


Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave 2007-23

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2023). Flora of Mozambique: Cultivated plants: Family page: Iridaceae.
https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/cult/family.php?family_id=110, retrieved 22 March 2023

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